Given his age and the serious nature of the crimes of which he was convicted, Sandusky is likely to receive a sentence that will keep the 68-year-old in prison for life. He is jailed pending sentencing and maintains his innocence.

Pennsylvania Judge John Cleland, who set the October sentencing date, will determine if Sandusky should be classified as a sexually violent predator, a designation that subjects a convict to intense reporting requirements upon release. An assessment board requested the designation despite Sandusky's probable life sentence.

Sandusky will be sentenced immediately afterward.

The abuse scandal led to the firings of famed coach Joe Paterno and the university's president, as well as unprecedented sanctions against the football program by the NCAA.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, hired by school trustees to conduct an investigation into the university's handling of abuse complaints against Sandusky, concluded that Paterno, ousted President Graham Spanier and two other high-level school officials concealed a 2001 allegation against Sandusky to protect Penn State from bad publicity.

The late coach's family and Spanier hotly disputed Freeh's assertions. So did former athletic director Tim Curley and retired vice president Gary Schulz, who have been charged criminally with failure to report suspected child abuse and perjury. They have pleaded innocent and await trial.